i have a black female molly. on april 4, she had 5 babies, so i'm guessing she was pregnant when i bought her because i'd only had her for 2 weeks. i read that mollies can give birth once every month for up to 5 months after their eggs are fertilized. should i plan on her having more babies soon? and should i put her in my breeding net a few days before she would be due? would she eat the babies? are the babies safer just hiding in the plants until i catch them and put them in the net nursery? (that is what i did last time because i didnt know she was pregnant) i want to free the babies from the nursery because they are almost one month old, but i'm afraid my chinese algae eater might eat them. i'm getting rid of the algae eater soon because he is a bully to my other fish. will they be okay for a few days though?
any answers or additional information would be great!
2007-04-26 12:26:31 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
one other quick question... if the molly has baby boys and girls, and the boys get their "sisters" pregnant, are they like humans and have abnormal babies? or is it totally different for fish?
2007-04-26 13:55:41 · update #1
good news! i'm getting rid of the chinese algae eater tomorrow!
woohooo!
2007-04-27 06:58:32 · update #2
Mollys can have babies every month for months after they have had contact with a male because they store the sperm. She will probably be having a new batch of babies ready to come soon, if she is looking pretty round then she is definately pregnant, if she is still thin looking I'd say shes not pregnant. It pretty much depends on whether you want to keep the babies. If you keep some you will end up with some boys that will be able to fertilize the mothers eggs and you will have babies everywhere. My platys keep breeding and I had to get a new 10 gallon tank for all the babies. You can put her in the net if you want to keep the babies and take her out when she's done having babies. Yes she will eat the babies if they are left by themselfs. Some will hide very well and actually survive. But if you have fish like mine they know the babies are there and will hunt them. They will be alright, to stay where you have them for a little while longer, you will be able to safely let them go when they are not big fish mouth sized. They will still have a tendency to hide so if they arn't small enough to be eaten they will probably survive.
Yes, the little boys can and will impregnate his sisters and mother. The can develop genetic abnormalities, but usually nothing more than a spinal kink, that doesnt affect the fish or the way it swims just the way it looks.
2007-04-26 12:38:10 · answer #1 · answered by wenchgirl04 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Black Mollies are live bearing fish and can store sperm. Often females are pregnant when bought from a store. You can expect to see more babies 4 or 5 weeks after she last gave birth. It is also very likely you will see even more 4 or 5 weeks after that. Breeding traps are stressful so I do not suggest you place her in one till she looks ready to pop and I would even suggest just letting her have the babies in the tank. Use plenty of plants to give hiding places to the babies when they are born. If you have plants for hiding in then your babies should be fine until they are big enough to come out of hiding.
Additional Info:
Yes the babies can impregnate each other once they are mature. If this occurs for several generations you can see physical malformations and other problems like stunted growth when the young never get a big as their parents.
2007-04-26 20:39:11 · answer #2 · answered by Dustinius 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you should plan on more babies soon. In my opinion you should move her to the net breeder as much as 1 week before the 28 day mark which would be in the next few days. Add a few plastic plants to the net space to make her more comfortable and also to give the babies more places to hide. Yes, she may eat some of the babies but she would do that either in the tank or in the breeder net. The babies won;t be safe in the tank unless they are too big for any other fish in the tank to eat them and I totally agree, ditch the CAE as soon as possible. They are a royal pain when they get a little size on them. If you have other questions, please feel free to email me.
MM
2007-04-26 19:34:54 · answer #3 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok 1st i have a mollie and they are live bearers and have kids live not eggs so there is no fertiliztion involved but take them out quick unless you only have the mother molly and get a sandy bottom on the tank because they will try ro wedge(babies) themselves in n die so thats it and the willhave kids every cycle like 4 weeks but dont worry after 4 times there infertal for a year ive seen it
2007-04-26 20:11:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
ya fish eat their babies. once, my guppy had babies, but i only found one, cuz i guess she ate the rest!!! *cry* i kept the baby fish in a cup (away from where my kitty could get it) untill she was complety full grown.
i dont think ur fish will have more babies
2007-04-26 19:32:21 · answer #5 · answered by cottoncandy55 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋